Senator Merkley Visits Child Detention Centers In Texas Again

PORTLAND, OR – In June, Jeff Merkley – Oregon's junior senator – paid a visit to Texas to see how people were being treated at the detention centers set up by the Trump administration to house people seeking asylum. Merkley left describing having seen kids in chainlink enclosures or cages.

He said there were "hundreds of kids."

Merkley's visit and claims focused new attention on the Trump administration policy of separating parents from their children at the border.

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Two weeks after Merkley's visit, President Trump signed an executive order ending the family separation policy.

On Saturday, Merkley – along with fellow senators, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Tina Smith of Minnesota as well as Representatives Beto O'Rourke and Judy Chu – paid another visit.

"Thousands of children are living in a tent prison in the desert," he said.

"We all eed to stand up and expose this unconscionable humanitarian crisis."

Merkley says one of the facilities was holding 2,700 teenagers and can hold another 1,100 more. He says the director of the facility more than 2,000 of them have been there more than 20 days, which is supposed to be the limit.

Those 2,700 kids are just a fraction of the at least 14,600 migrant children in custody.

Merkley, who says he was told taxpayers are spending $1 million a day for the facility's operation, adds that he believes that it doesn't have to be this way.

"The vast majority of these children have parents or other family members who are ready to sponsor them in the US," he said. "The Trump Administration has deliberately created a bottleneck so that it’s difficult for the children to be released.

"They’re also threatening to hand over any undocumented family members to ICE, discouraging sponsors from coming forward."

Merkley has said he is considering a 2020 presidential bid. O'Rourke is also said to be thinking about tossing his hat in the ring.

Photo via Jeff Merkley's office.